Sunnyvale planning commission backs ordinance to trade some below‑market units for neighborhood retail in two village centers

The Sunnyvale Planning Commission on Feb. 24 voted 6‑0, with Vice Chair Davis absent, to recommend that City Council introduce an ordinance and adopt a companion resolution to modify the city’s inclusionary below‑market‑rate (BMR) rules for certain village center sites so developers can provide more commercial space in exchange for a reduced BMR obligation.

Trudy Ryan, the city’s director of community development, told commissioners the proposal responds to state housing law changes that have allowed some residential projects to be built with little or no commercial space, undermining the original village‑center vision in the 2017 land use and transportation element. “Village Centres are a newer type of land use for Sunnyvale,” Ryan said, and the program would offer a scaled incentive: projects that add between 5% and 10% commercial floor‑area ratio (FAR) would have their BMR requirement cut roughly in half; projects above 10% FAR could qualify to waive the BMR requirement for the site.

The staff report said only two village centers meet the program’s eligibility criteria: Village Center 5 (Duane Avenue) and Village Center 6 (Lawrence Expressway / Lakewood Shopping Center). Eligibility criteria include a village mixed‑use general…